Butifarrón Sabroso

by hungrysofia on 8 March 2010

I hadn’t thought of meatloaf as Latin food until recently. Butifarron, carne fria, albondigas, it was all there I just didn’t make the connection to the heavy cafeteria slices we’d get at school or the bacon wrapped loafs served at a friend’s house. When I found this recipe for butifarrón sabroso in Puerto Rican Cookery, I couldn’t wait to make it. Last week I gathered all of the ingredients and put it together quickly. I ended up with a smooth loaf floured and ready to…fry?I’d read the recipe through but hadn’t really considered the logistics of lightly frying and turning a heavy, barely pulled together 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat. I got it in the skillet and turned it to form a not-quite evenly browned crust, but it wasn’t pretty. Going ahead with the recipe, I added the pureed tomatoes and onions and hoped for the best. After an hour and a half of stove top simmering, I had a messy butifarrón that was in fact sabroso. I loved the tomatoes and caramelized onions but could do without splattering oil and clumsy loaf flipping. I decided to make it again, baked not fried. Streaked with peppers, flecked with cilantro, the salt pork melted into the lean ground sirloin. Still not the all-American meat loaf circa-Mad Men, it was all the more comforting for being completely familiar.